Nine Bangladeshis have been selected as the honourees for Forbes' 30 under 30 Asia Class of 2024.
The prestigious business magazine Forbes released its ninth annual 30 Under 30 Asia list on Thursday.
Forbes announced the list, highlighting 300 young entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators under the age of 30 who are driving change and innovation across the Asia-Pacific region. The honourees represent diverse fields, including arts, technology, media, finance, and more.
The Bangladeshis who made this year's list are:
Anusha Alamgir
Anusha Alamgir has been featured in the Arts category. She is a Bangladeshi multidisciplinary artist with a master's degree in architecture from the Royal College of Art in London. She was the only female Bangladeshi to exhibit in the 18th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2023 Venice Biennale with a film called Porda - which means veil in Bangla - addressing Muslim veiling practices. Alamgir's artistic practices apply architectural concepts to sculpture, painting, photography and performance, while also exploring contemporary issues in Bangladesh such as the female body image and the so-called male gaze. Her work has been exhibited by the Oitij-jo Collective in London, at the La-La Land Gallery in Los Angeles and the Drik Picture Library in Dhaka. Alamgir is also the founder of the online thrift store Colors Dhaka.
Mehedi Shoron
Mehedi Shoron, co-founder of HelloTask, has been recognized in the Consumer Technology category. HelloTask, the "Uber for maid service" offers hourly bookings, monthly subscriptions, verification of the maids it employs, and safety features to protect them from exploitation or violence. Hellotask has raised funding from investors as well as grants from the World Bank and Oxfam. The company hopes to expand its force of maids to 100,000 by 2025 and explore international markets.
Redwan Ahmed
Redwan Ahmed has been listed in the Media, Marketing and Advertising category. Redwan Ahmed is an award-winning freelance journalist who goes after the biggest stories in Bangladesh. His coverage of the Rohingya crisis for Agence France-Presse earned him the 22nd Human Rights Press Award and his investigations for the British news outlet The Guardian unveiled the exploitation of Bangladeshi garment factory workers. Beyond reporting, Redwan cofounded the Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, dedicated to protecting local journalists. Ahmed was named a fellow in the 2021 Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism program.
Sultan Moni, Mumtahina Anika
Sultan Moni and Mumtahina Anika, co-founders of Zatiq, have been recognized in the Finance and Venture Capital category. Sultan Moni and Mumtahina Anika cofounded Dhaka-based fintech startup Zatiq, aiming to help small companies better manage their accounting with software and hardware that are easy to adopt. One example is a business calculator that can be synced with smartphones to track finances and generate reports. Zatiq also offers a simple way for small businesses to start an e-commerce website. In August, Zatiq raised a $1.6 million pre-seed funding round led by Dekko ISHO Venture Capital.
Fahad Ahmed
Fahad Ahmed has been honoured in the Finance and Venture Capital category. Fahad is the cofounder of Wind.App, a cross-border remittance platform that uses blockchain technology and stablecoins to offer faster and cheaper transactions. Founded in 2022, the startup secured $3.8 million in pre-seed funding led by Global Founders Capital and Spartan Group in November. Before Wind, Fahad was part of the founding team and head of product at Pathao, where he launched services such as food delivery, payments, and ride-hailing in Bangladesh and Nepal. A self-taught coder, Fahad earned a bachelor's degree in finance and economics from the University of Dhaka.
Md Shahidul Islam, Abdul Gaffar Sadi, and Md Tushar
Md Shahidul Islam, Abdul Gaffar Sadi, and Md Tushar, has been featured in the Finance and Venture Capital category. Abdul Gaffar Sadi, Md Tushar and Md Shahidul Islam founded Dhaka-based Drutoloan, which translates to quick loan in English. The company helps micro and small businesses get lending from banks and financing companies, helping them with the paperwork and helping lenders assess creditworthiness. Since starting in 2019, the cofounders said the company disbursed over $2 million in loans. In November it raised $125,000 in preseed funding.
